Piloting Healthcare Coordination in Hypertension

Goal: Conduct a prospective randomized pilot clinical trial embedded within the care delivery system at UCSF Medical Center (UCSF). It is intended to evaluate the efficacy of optima4BP in improving care coordination for patients with uncontrolled hypertension (HTN). Although optima4BP has been evaluated during patient-physician office visits, it has not been evaluated for its efficacy to support treatment changes remotely, over time. PRECISION investigates this aspect and its impact on stakeholders (physicians and patients). The outcomes will set the stage for a scaled-up study of 300 patients at UCSF.

Study Design: The patients will be randomized to 2 arms (a) optima4BP surveillance and treatment recommendation support (O4BP); (b) usual care (UC) - usual care seen appropriate by the treating physician). NOTE: The original design prior to study initiation considered a 3 arms randomization which would also include: enhanced care (EC) representing a "step up" from UC by providing the physician with raw remotely collected BP values sent on a monthly cycle. However, this arm was abandoned at enrollment because patients in the UC arm were proactively reaching out to their physicians with remotely collected BP values from the Qardio® device therefore rendering the initially projected Extended Care arm unuseful.

Every 30 days, the collection of patient information will be followed by an arm-specific action. For identified patients in need of a medication change, O4BP physicians will receive a treatment change recommendation for review. UC physicians will not receive any information. All patients will undergo at least 2 in-office visits, a baseline visit and an exit visit. All patients will be asked to provide every 30 days the following information: (a) adherence to current HTN treatment; and (b) experienced side-effects and severity. The communication will be performed via e-mail between Health-e-Heart (HeH) automated system (https://www.health-eheartstudy.org/) and the patient. HeH will automatically obtain BP values from the remote monitors provided to each patient.

Inclusion criteria

• UCSF General Medicine patient
• 2 or more values on consecutive office visits within 12 months: systolic blood pressure (SBP) > 140 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) > 90
• Therapy with at least 2 anti-hypertensive pharmacological classes at the time of the last office visit

Exclusion criteria

• Does not own a smartphone
• Does not speak or read English
• Planning to leave UCSF in the next year
• Has a treating physician who refuses to enroll patients
• Treating physician states that:

Patient cannot manage Qardio® arm blood pressure (BP) device (due to cognitive, psychological, physical or other problems), or Patient is already at goal, or Should not participate in the study for any other reason

• Non-compliance with medical follow-up (frequent "no shows")
• Planned coronary revascularization in the next 6 months
• Myocardial infarction, stroke, coronary revascularization, cardiac or aortic surgery in the last 3 months